neatsfoot oil - how much is too much?

[el_pipou]

Hi,

I have owned a couple pairs of cowboy boots for about a year and have been conditioning them with only neatsfoot oil.

The boots I got have usually been offered to someone a few years ago, this person then wore them a couple times and let them sit in a shoebox for years. So technically they're almost unworn, but rather dry (not to the point of getting cracks however)

(if you wonder why I choose that kind of boots its because I get them for about 30 bucks whereas Id have to pay hundreds otherwise wich I cant afford)

winter is coming, and I dont want my boots to get dry because of wet-dry cycles, or to rot...

they dont seem to ever get enough oil, whenever I apply some, they drink it up in seconds if not instantly. wich to me would seem to indicate that they are way too dry and need more oil. however im a newbie and im afraid of ruining a perfectly fine pair of boots because of my ignorance.

how to know when there is enough oil? should I keep oiling until the oil stays on the surface for a few minutes? what happens if I over-use oil?

ps: how the leather feels to the touch ; definitely not dry, but firm.

 

Edited 4 hours ago by el_pipou

[fredk]

Its very hard to judge the right amount

39 minutes ago, el_pipou said:

how to know when there is enough oil? should I keep oiling until the oil stays on the surface for a few minutes? what happens if I over-use oil?

That is definitely too much. Too much can surely ruin a pair of boots

To limit how much NFO I'm putting on I have a NFO/bees wax/carnauba wax mix that I apply all over. I let that sit a while then I buff the waxes to a semi-glossy shine. I've never had anything so dry that it needs more than one NFO/wax application. Perhaps in your case, another coating in a weeks time, then another after another week should see it getting enough feed

 

[Dwight]

Neatsfoot oil is meant to replace the oil that was latent in the original hide.

It is very easy to get too much in there  . . . kids usually do that with their baseball gloves . . . thinking sloppy and floppy will catch a ball better 

It don't.

My oiling is done with a cheap 1 inch pig hair paint brush from Harbor freight.

I put it on quickly . . . just enough to see it is wet . . . and quit.  The "wet" stage disappears very quickly . . . 

My item will be just barely noticeably darker the next day.  Usually only determined by putting a piece of the original leather up to the oiled one . . . squinting a bit . . . to find a difference .

May God bless,

Dwight